Woven shades add a warm look to a room filled with family memories

For Chicago-area interior designer Vanessa Nunley, who writes the More is More Mom blog on lifestyle issues, focusing on family memories brings meaning to home décor.


"In displaying photographs, it’s more visually appealing to feature items of varying sizes," wrote Nunley, a Wheaton, Illinois resident who has her own interior design firm. "Anything that is all the same size will feel like little soldiers all lined up in a row."


Nunley organizes family photos by subject matter or tone. She also unifies groupings by the style of frame, but doesn't use identical frames in order to give the impression of collecting them over time.


To create a picture wall, Nunley recommends laying out all the photos on the floor to create an arrangement before making nail holes in the wall. A grid pattern works well if all the pictures are the same size. Otherwise, a looser arrangement of different sizes and shapes should be formed with one large piece as the focal point and built around it.


On nearby windows, woven shades of bamboo or wood give a room a warm look that fits a home focused on family memories. They come in a variety of colors and natural finishes.